Growing Up
by Tarkaneea
Summary: College AU - Clarke and Octavia are roommates, but what does that mean for Clarke and Bellamy? Can the sworn enemies put aside their differences? What will they find, if they do? - Bellarke - I'm not promising frequent updates, but I'll try.
1. A Fresh Start?

Chapter 1: A Fresh Start?

\- Clarke -

Clarke stared up at the dorm hall as she took a box from her back seat and sighed. Why did she have to be on the third floor? Life would be so much easier on the first floor. Less stairs. Shorter commute. Then again, less crazies on the third floor. Less likely to have a rock thrown through the window. Not that she was worried about that.

Okay, maybe she was a little paranoid.

She had talked on the phone with her new roommate a few minutes earlier and she was running late. She had a good feeling about her. Octavia seems like a fun girl, who can be serious when the situation calls for it. And she was a freshman. Wouldn't be in with _that_ crowd yet.

Clarke was looking forward to having more girlfriends. Majority of her friends are guys and, while guys are awesome, she needs some girl time now and then.

And she needs a fresh start after last year.

She painfully remember the situation that caused her to lose her best friend. What happened with Wells was a harsh ending to a long and good friendship. He hadn't been able to adjust to college life as well as her. He wasn't ready for the independence and the pressures placed upon him. And she hadn't seen it. So when he had taken his own life, it had crushed her for not seeing the signs. Because of that, she switched her major from Pre Med to social justice. To help people.

After moving all her boxes from her car to room 309, Clarke decided to take a minute before unpacking. She sat down on the edge of her bed and scrolled through her unanswered texts.

Jasper – _"We're sophomores! Hell yes!"_

Raven – _"We need to hang out, you me"_

Finn – _"I need to talk to you"_

Jasper – _"Hey, Clarke, a bunch of us are heading to Grounders tonight. You in?"_

Finn – _"Please, we really need to talk."_

Finn – _"I love you, please answer."_

She clicked her phone off and threw it onto her pillow. Maybe she'd take Jasper up on his offer. She hadn't seen him since May. Finn, on the other hand. All she wanted to do was forget that awful night ever happened. It wasn't her fault. She was drunk. She was grieving. Her parents wouldn't talk to her. So she reached out to someone who would. Someone who would make her feel less alone.

What a mistake that had been.

 _Knock knock_

The door opened and a young woman walked carrying a box with what appeared to be very old books. She looked around and spotted Clarke.

"You must be Clarke. I'm Octavia." She set the box down on her own bed as Clarke stood up to greet her. Clarke reached out for a handshake as Octavia went in for a hug. Both girls laughed and Clarke conceded for the hug.

"Nice to finally meet you, Octavia." She said, still laughing softly, "I hope you don't mind that I haven't unpacked yet. I just got done lugging all of it up from my car."

"Oh, I don't care. I'm making my brother do that for me." She said offhandedly. "It's the only thing they're good for, ya know? Hard labor." Both girls laughed again.

Clarke had a brief moment to wonder about this brother before the devil himself walked through the door.

"Hey, O. Where you want these?" Bellamy Blake. Bellamy. Fucking. Blake.

Now, here's the thing about Bellamy Blake. He's tall. (So freaking tall). And hot. (So freaking hot). But he's a jackass. He has this chip on his shoulder from a hard childhood. Doesn't like anyone who came from money, which means he doesn't like Clarke.

The two had had a class together last semester. Psych 101. They never got on. The one time they were paired together for a project ended in disaster. Screaming in public places. Coffee poured on some of his more… sensitive extremities. Some tears, some punches.

Let's just say they both failed that project.

And they've hated each other ever since. Something he and his friends never let her forget. With their constant and seemingly endless stream of comments and muttered insults, they never left an opportunity to put her down go to waste. Then again, she had quite a lengthy list of comebacks on hand at any moment.

"Princess."

She turned to glare at him before closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Blake. I should have noticed your last name." God. Why did she have to be put together with the little sister of _him!_ Ugh! "How could I be so oblivious?"

"Am I missing something here?" Clarke opened her eyes to see Octavia standing awkwardly by her bed looking between Bellamy and Clarke, obviously extremely confused.

"You see, O, Princess here isn't exactly what I would call a nice person." Bellamy said in a nasty voice. "She thinks she's on top of the world and that no one is good enough for her and her high standards of living." He sets the two boxes he's been holding down on the desks and leaves the room without another look.

The comeback Clarke comes up with gets stuck in her mouth when she sees Octavia's concerned face.

"So you're her." Octavia look up at Clarke with wide eyes. "You're the girl my brother has been complaining about all summer but won't tell us why."

"So he complained about me." Clarke groaned. Perfect. Now her roommate is going to have preset ideas about her.

"Just little things. Most of the time it was under his breath, or when he didn't think anyone could hear him. 'Princess Bitch thinks this…' 'Princess thinks that…' We never understood who or what he was talking about. The one time I asked, he shot me down so fast and fierce, I thought he was going to spew chunk or something." Octavia laughed. "My mom and I spent the entire summer debating on whether you were the girl who broke _finally_ broke his cold heart or if you scratched his truck." That got a chuckle out of Clarke.

"None of the above." She said with a small smile.

Octavia was serious for a moment. "Clarke. The fact that Bellamy doesn't like you is actually a positive in my book. Most of the girls who hang with Bell are idiots, whores, drama queens or all of the above. I don't get that vibe from you." Octavia gave her a sly smile. "And besides I love doing things my brother hates."

"I get the feeling you and I are going to be great friends, Octavia." Octavia just laughed.

"If that's the case, call me O. Everyone else does."

Octavia was definitely easy to get along with. The two of them unpacked their boxes, both ignoring Bellamy as he brought box after box up from his truck. They made jokes, laughed when they both pulled out old and worn out, yet dearly loved, blankets at the exact same time, and talked about their plans for the year.

"Perfect." Clarke said, clapping her hands together and surveying their work after they had finished unpacking.

Octavia nodded. She was about to say something when Bellamy interrupted from behind the pair.

"I'm off," he said, kissing his sister on the head. "Anything you need?" She laughed and swatted him away. Clarke pretended to be busy with her books when he turned towards her. "I would say don't corrupt her, but seen as how the worst thing you can do is study, I'm not too worried." He practically sneered.

"Don't worry, she's safe in my hands." Clarke shot back. "Just because you always get in trouble doesn't mean we all do."

Bellamy looked like he was going to say something, but thought better of it and turned back to his sister. "See you around, O."

"Bye, Bell!" Octavia said to his retreating back. As soon as he was out the door she turned to Clarke. "We are going to do something fun, aren't we? I need some fun. All this unpacking has left me with a craving for some adventure." She had a slightly worried look on her face.

"Don't worry. I have the perfect plan." She said, thinking back on her earlier text messages. "I think you need to meet my friend Jasper." She smirked, knowing exactly how their first interaction would go.

"Jasper?" Octavia didn't sound so convinced.

Clarke laughed, "Don't worry. He might even let you have some of his homemade moonshine." Octavia's head shot up at the mention of alcohol. "I thought you might like that idea." Clarke grabbed her purse and phone and headed for the door, Octavia not far behind.

"First question. Is he single? If not, does he have any single friends?" Clarke's only response was laughter.

* * *

As Clarke and Octavia walked into Grounders, a coffee shop just off campus the group regulars before their late night adventures, they noticed a loud group in the back corner.

"Oh come on, Monty. You know that it'd totally be Amber!" Jasper was holding breadstick threateningly out at Monty. "She'd totally be able to kick Jango's ass! Her dual-wielding swords can kick through any defenses!" He demonstrated said dual-wielding abilities with his breadsticks.

"Hell no!" Monty shot back. "You must have been dropped as a child to think that Jango could be beat so easily! He isn't some elven tramp whose only ability is big breasts!" This got the whole table in an uproar.

Octavia looked skeptically at Clarke. "Is that the table we're headed for?"

"Of course! We have a reputation to protect! If the whole campus knew how awesome we were, they'd be hanging around trying to join in on the action." Octavia laughed. "We only have so much booze, O. Gotta save it for the ones who matter." Clarke defended with a sly grin. Suddenly a loud burst of laughter erupted from the back table and Clarke quickly maneuvered over, apologizing when she knocked over a guys jacket.

"Guys, calm your tits. You're going to get us kicked out!"

"Come on, Miller!" Jasper slapped him on the back. "Live a little! Or did you forget how to have fun over the summer?"

"Go easy on Miller, Jas." Clarke said as she walked up to the table. "He never knew how to have fun." The whole table erupted into laughter again as Miller glared at Clarke.

"Clarke!" Jasper jumped out of the booth to hug her. "So glad you could make it." He seemed to notice Octavia for the first time. "Who is this lovely lady? Where have you been hiding her, Clarke?" He bowed extravagantly, making Octavia blush.

"Everyone, this is my roommate, Octavia." Clarke presented her to the table. "O, this is Jasper, Miller, Harper, Monty and Roma." Clarke pointed out each member individually.

"Hi guys." Octavia looked nervous for the first time since Clarke had met her.

"Dude. You should totally try the breadsticks." Harper interjected, with half of one in her mouth. "They're to die for." The group made room for Clarke and Octavia and before long, the boys were back to their previous argument about god knows what while the girls listened on with only slight interest.

"Jas, you got any of your special stuff, tonight?" Roma asked Jasper as he was in the middle of explaining something about 'the beauty of chemistry' to Miller.

"Of course!" He said with a wink at Octavia. "I never leave home without it." The entire group laughed. "And besides, it's the first night back! We need to do something."

"Skating?"

"Pranks on newbies?"

"Rage Quit!"

"Guys, I'm really feeling the rage quit tonight." Monty agreed with Harper's idea, quickly.

"But who would we rage quit?" Roma asked. "Like Jas said, it's the first night back, we don't have any enemies yet." Octavia looked over at Clarke with a confused look and mouthed 'rage quit?'

Clarke leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'll explain later."

"We could always rage quit someone from last year." Harper suggested.

"But we don't know where any of their rooms are." Miller pointed out.

"I know where Finn's room is." Everyone turned to Clarke, eyes wide at her suggestion. "And I mean, if there is anyone who should have a surprise rage quit on the first night, it's Finn."

"You're still not over that?" Roma asked, surprised.

"You expect her to be over the fact that her roommate's boyfriend took advantage of her as she was drunk and grieving her best friend." Jasper shot out.

"Point taken."

"Guys, I didn't mean to kill the mood." Clarke put out. "I just thought it would be fun."

"Oh, it'll be fun alright." Monty turned to Jasper. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking a homemade stink bomb to warn his entire building what a shit he is, then yes." Jasper's smile was so terrifying it could probably curdle dairy.

"That's not what I was thinking. But I like that idea much better." They high fived and the entire group just laughed.

"Is now the right time to ask what rage quit is?" Octavia asked, still laughing as they left the coffee shop. The girl had obviously become comfortable with the group in the short time she had been in the coffee shop, Clarke observed as the group began the trek back towards campus. She was slightly jealous of her ability to feel at ease in any environment, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from being her friend. It's easier, she thought, being the less outgoing one. It makes her less likely to be hurt, which is always a good thing.

Jasper threw an arm around Octavia's shoulders, oblivious to Clarke's thoughts. "That, my dear, is a good question." He laughed. "And something which is better shown, than explained." He suddenly stopped and smacked himself on the forehead. "Shit, we need a game plan." He beckons everyone closer.

"So, if we're gonna stink this place to kingdom come, we need an epic game plan." He said as soon as everyone was close enough.

"Roma, Miller – you'll be on lookout. Monty – you're on stink bomb duty. Make this your best yet. Harper – you are Monty's assistant. Octavia, Clarke – you're going to deliver said stink bomb." He put his fist up, as if for a team cheer. "Everyone down?"

"What about you?" Harper asked.

"I'm going to give the best damn monolog this school has ever seen." He said with a sly smile. "Team on three! 1 – 2 – 3!"

"Team!"

"Break!"

"Let's do this shit."

As the groups moved off to complete their assigned tasks, Clarke and Octavia walked around campus, with Clarke pointing out buildings and shortcuts Octavia would need to know. "So, rage quit?"

Clarke laughed at her bluntness. "Rage quit started last year and has become something of a tradition for us." She chuckled softly at the memory. "It originated when Roma's boyfriend cheated on her and we needed a way to get him back. We ended up getting drunk and stealing what felt like a million sticky notes from a faculty storage room. On them, we drew dicks, wrote insults and told all of his secrets to the world. We put them all over campus, but mostly on his car. In the morning when we were all recovering from a horrible hangover, someone, I don't even remember who it was, said 'Damn girl, you rage quit him real fast.'" Both girls laughed. "And thus, rage quit was born." They walked in comfortable silence for a while.

"Now, don't take this the wrong way. I'm the type of girl who makes her own opinions and doesn't judge a person at first glance, but I have to say it. When we first talked, I didn't expect you to be like this." Octavia admitted.

Now it was Clarke's turn to be confused. She stopped and asked. "What did you expect?"

"A goody two shoes. A know it all." Octavia looked down at her feet. "Someone boring."

Clarke looked up at the sky and said. "And what am I like?"

Octavia looked up and stared Clarke directly in the eye and said. "Cool. Fun. Awesome. Outgoing. Crazy. Adventurous." She laughed. "I didn't think you'd be a more subdued version of me."

Clarke laughed. "See, now I know you're lying." Soon both girls were laughing so hard they had fallen to the ground and were getting some odd looks from some of the other students walking around.

After an hour of simple talking, getting to know one another, a loud shout was heard. "CLARKE!" Monty was waving frantically from just inside one of the science buildings, just off the campus green.

"I guess that's our queue," Clarke stood up and offered a hand to Octavia, who was still wiping her eyes from laughing so hard.

"I suppose so," Octavia agreed.

The pair walked towards the building where Monty was and suddenly found the rest of the group was already there, hovered around a sheet of paper. The group was muttering things like, "Yeah man, great!" "Displeasure sounds so much better than distaste." "Best speech ever!" Clarke just laughed and asked Jasper where the stink bomb was.

"Mi'ladies" Jasper bowed to Clarke and Octavia. "Your weapon." He was holding a jar half filled with white paste. Clarke was not impressed.

"It doesn't look like the ones from last year." She said, cautiously, "are you sure it'll work?"

"I've been working on a new formula all summer. It'll work, I promise." Monty smiled. This was the smile of a maniac who had just perfected his already perfect formula.

"Alright, I trust you," Clarke laughed. "Even if you are a dense little scientist." The whole group laughed before setting up the final game plan. Before they knew it, it was show time.

* * *

Clarke and Octavia walked through Ammon Hall, the stink bomb hidden safely in a bag meant for bottles of wine and fine liquor. Octavia smiled demurely at any boys who even looked like they found it odd for two girls to be walking down the hall of a boy's dorm at 11:30 at night. Right on time, Jasper starts walking down the hall, coming from the other direction, brandishing a golf club for reasons unknown. He probably thinks its cool, Clarke thought to herself and chuckled slightly. Octavia gave her a concerned glance, but she waved her off.

Too late to turn back now.

"Gentlemen of Ammon Hall, 5th floor. This is your unlucky year." Jasper started reciting during his walk down the hallway. "You see, you've been saddled with not only some of the oldest and shittiest dorms on campus. No AC must really suck. But you've also been saddled with some of the shittiest people to live with." Jasper has now passes Octavia and Clarke, but is still talking. "It is my extreme displeasure to introduce you to Finn Collins, room 512. Now, at first glance, Finn seems like a nice guy. He's fun, he's caring and he's dependable to a fault. Unless you're a girl. Because if you're a girl, Finn treats you like property and as such has no respect for you. So, none of you gentlemen have anything to worry about." Jasper smiled, because at that moment Finn stepped out of his room and into the hallway, glaring at Jasper. "Unless, of course, you have a girlfriend."

"You fucking shit. You have no idea what you're talking about!" Finn made the huge mistake of leaving his door open while he turned on Jasper, giving Clarke the perfect opportunity.

"It's been fun, asshole." Clarke laughed as she threw the stink bomb into his dorm and turned to sprint out of the hall. While Octavia ran around anyone in the way, Clarke merely jumped over them in a split jump. The pair didn't stop running until they met up with the rest of the group a few blocks away. They fell over from exhaustion and laughter.

"So that's rage quit" Octavia got out through heavy breaths, her head turned slightly towards Clarke in question.

"Yep. Welcome to the team."

 **A/N: Hi, y'all, I'm Brittany. Thanks for taking the time to read chapter 1 of my story. It'll be a fun adventure, and I hope y'all will join me.**


	2. Acclimation

**A/N: Hey guys, it's Brittany. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of** _ **Growing Up**_ **. It's been fun for me to go back and explore these characters in a new way. I'm having fun and I hope you are too.**

 **Disclaimer: The story is mine, the characters are not and any similarities to the book or TV Show are not claimed by me.**

 **I truly am interested in your opinions. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please remember I am a human being too and I do make mistakes.**

 **Thanks again for reading my story, here's chapter two.**

Chapter 2:

\- Octavia –

It's probably about 5 in the morning and I'm still wide awake. I hear Clarke's haggard breathing from across the room. She's having a nightmare. I wish I knew her well enough to feel comfortable in waking her up. Instead, I continue to stare out the window. Our window faces the South and it overlooks a greenspace. It's quite beautiful. It's almost dawn, and I can see the sky slowly becoming brighter as the sun rises.

I've always been plagued by insomnia, ever since I was a little girl. I would be kept up by my father yelling at my mom. It was always like that when he was drinking. He would become abusive, mostly verbally, but sometimes he would hit mom. On those nights, Bell would always come into my room and make sure I was okay and he usually fell asleep there. I remember one night was particularly bad and my father came into my room, mom was screaming at him to stop, but he came in and found Bellamy standing in front of my bed. Mom looked relieved to see him there, but it just enraged my father further. He hit Bell over and over and over again, until he was unconscious.

It was utterly terrifying. But that was the last night I ever saw my father.

Bellamy had always been my protector and I was always his, whenever he got into fights, I was the one who cleaned him up. Whenever he was sick, I took care of him. We were a team, Bell and I.

But something feels different now. I'm in this unfamiliar place and he's so comfortable here. He has friends, he has traditions and he's known all around campus. And I'm not. Back home, we had always been a package deal. Everyone knew that if you became friends with Bellamy, I would come along. If you became friends with me, Bell would be there. That's not the case anymore.

Especially with Clarke. I'm not saying Clarke and I are going to become best friends, but it's a good possibility. I laugh, remembering last night. "Rage quit" I mutter softly to myself, shaking my head at our stupidity. It was fun, but stupid fun.

I'm not stupid. I know that Clarke is _extremely_ well off. She drives a BMW convertible for God's sake. That car is worth more than my house. But, knowing that, I still can't help but sense that her family might be just as broken as ours, which is really quite tragic. But what's that saying? _Money doesn't buy happiness._ But it's sure as hell more comfortable to cry alone in a BMW than it is on a bicycle.

I look back at the subject of my thoughts. She's obviously still having her nightmare. Her nose is scrunched up and her eyelids are fluttering like crazy. Again, I feel the urge to wake her up. I don't know what is stopping me. Is it the fact that I'm almost scared to get close to her because of what it would me in my relationship with my brother? Or is it simply that I don't know her well enough and I don't want to scare her off. Damn, this is hard. Are all life decisions this hard?

I think back to when I was little and Bell would comfort me when I was scared. He would hold me as I cried and made everything seem okay. Does she have an older brother who comforted her when she was scared? Or maybe she is the older sibling, coming in and making everything okay again. I laugh softly, because even thinking about Bellamy and Clarke in the same type of situation is funny. I can't even begin to imagine what happened that could make these two amazingly nice and awesome people hate each other with such passion.

I don't have much time to think on the subject because at that exact moment a piercing sound comes from Clarke's phone. "Fuck!" I scream, startled out of my wits. Clarke bolts straight upright, blearily rubs her eyes.

"Sorry if I woke you up," Then she's looking, confused between me, sitting on the window sill, and my bed. "You couldn't sleep?" She asks me.

"Not really. New place. New mattress. Have you noticed how soft they are?" I laugh nervously.

"You could've woken me up." She states matter of factly, as she gets out of bed and starts collecting things to start her morning. "I would've sat with you."

Clarke has this funny way of making all your problems seem really small. I don't mean that in a bad way. She's the kind of person who just makes everything seem easier than it really is. I respect that about her, about anyone, if we're being technical here.

"It's fine. I've always had insomnia, it's just extra rough being in a new place. My sleep schedule will probably once I get used to the room and campus." And you, I don't add. I've never had to share a room with anyone, other than the occasional sleepover. Those only lasted one night. This will last 9 months. I haven't told anyone about how nervous I was to have a roommate for college. Not even Bell knows the full extent, because obviously I couldn't hide all of my nervousness from him. He knows me better than anyone. I'm not too worried about Clarke, though. So far, she's been a great roommate. "Anyway, why such an early alarm? You do realize it's only 5:30 in the morning, right?"

"Tell that to my dance instructor." The weariness in her voice is being overpowered by irritation. "6 am workouts 6 days a week, with practices at 7pm 4 days a week." She sighed. "I'm pulling for Captain this year, so that maybe I can work on rescheduling workouts. They kill the team." Clarke glances down at her watch, "Shoot, I'm going to be late. I can meet you back here at 7:30, if you want, for breakfast?" She's halfway out the door now.

"Sure, I'll be here." I give a halfhearted wave as she rushes out the door.

* * *

I'm finishing some of the organizing that I didn't do yesterday when there's a knock on my door. I open it to find a young woman I don't recognize. She wasn't a part of the group last night and they didn't say they were missing anyone. She was stunning, though, in a rough cut, kind of way. She looked like she could punch through a wall and make the wall cry.

"Is Clarke here?" She asked, her tone clipped.

I shook my head. "She has dance or something. Do you want me to tell her you stopped by?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Tell her that Raven really wants to talk to her. It's urgent." With that, Raven turned on her heel and walked away down the hallway. That was weird, I thought to myself.

About five minutes after Raven leaves, I get a text from Clarke saying she's on her way back to the dorm for breakfast. Then it hit me. Last night, Clarke mentioned a Raven. I think she said that she was her roommate last year and that— my thoughts stopped dead. Raven was Finn's ex-girlfriend. The same Finn who we rage quit last night. Oh God. Is Raven pissed that we did that? Is she going to hurt us? Oh crap. What did I do? What did we do?

"Crap, crap, crap…" I sitting on my bed, muttering to myself when Clarke walks in. She talking about breakfast options, but she takes one look at me and falls silent, eyebrows knit together. She walks over and sits on my bed and puts an arm around me.

"What's wrong, O?" She asks, I can hear the concern in her voice. "You can tell me, it's okay."

I tell her about Raven showing up and about my concerns about Finn and that she's going to murder us in our sleep. After I'm done, and I'm looking up at Clarke, waiting for her to confirm or deny that any of this will or will not happen, she does something I didn't see coming.

She laughs. She laughs and hugs me closer. "O, Raven is one of my best friends. Yeah, we had a tense couple of months after the Finn incident, but we're still close. Did you really think she was going to beat you up?" Clarke laughed again when I nodded. "Raven Reis might be an intimidating person, but she wouldn't hurt a fly. Unless that fly had a penis and was a dick. Then she might hurt the fly." I busted out laughing at that. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I guess I'm just not used to college life yet." I sigh. "I come from a neighborhood where you assume everyone wants to hurt you. Because they most likely are." Clarke nods with understanding.

"Would you mind if I invited Raven to breakfast?" She asks. "It would be nice to see her again, and I feel like you should get to know her. She's pretty awesome."

I hesitate. As absolutely amazing as last night was, it would be nice to get to know Clarke as Clarke and not Clarke with all these other people around. I have no idea where she's from, or what her parents are like or anything else. I also don't want to be a third wheel as Clarke catches up with her old roommate. I can tell that Clarke could sense my hesitation. I didn't want her to think less of me since she was really nice.

"We don't have to," She said, not offended at all. "I can catch up with her at lunch or something." She looked slightly upset, but the look was gone in an instant. She isn't the kind of girl to show weakness. I start to feel bad. I don't want to stand between Clarke and her friends, but I don't really know anyone else and I don't know how comfortable I am around Raven.

The silence that follows is deafening, and I realize what a brat I'm being. "You can invite her." I say, shyly. "I mean, if you really want to." Clarke starts to brush it off, but I insist. "You want to hang out with your friend. That's completely understandable." I can tell that Clarke isn't completely sold that I want to do this, and honestly I'm not sure why I'm pushing it. I don't understand it and I'm probably not showing a lot of confidence, either.

"Are you sure?" She asks me. "I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

I think for a moment, then say "Of course I'm sure. Now what did you say was for breakfast?

* * *

"By this time she's literally spewing chocolate milk out her nose" I'm barely containing my laughter at this point of Raven's story. "I'm trying to keep a straight face since I'm standing in front of the Dean of Students of _the entire university._ And here's Clarke with chocolate milk all over her. I'm composed and collected and professional. Two weeks later, the two of us run into him again. Guess who he remembers. I'll give you a hint," Clarke giggles at this. "It wasn't me, I'll tell you that much." Raven didn't sound upset about it, more proud instead.

"Wow." That's all I could manage. Over the course of the past hour, Raven and Clarke had been telling me stories of their freshman year and they are honestly pretty remarkable. I lean back in my chair and rub my stomach. "I am so stuffed full of food, right now."

"Oh believe me," Raven laughs. "As good as the food tastes now, you'll be tired of it by the end of the year."

"I can't look at baked beans without wincing." Clarke added.

"She ate baked beans at least twice a day for five months." Raven clarified when I looked confused. "She really liked baked beans and now she won't even look at them." She laughed again, "It's hilarious."

"Yeah, I'm sure it was positively riveting." A voice said behind me and I saw Clarke's face fall so fast, I didn't think it was humanly possible. I turned around, ready to rip my brother a new one when he said "I need to talk to O." He sounded harsh, but his voice had an edge to it that I'd never heard before. I was a little worried, if I was being honest. I spared Clarke a parting glance. She waved me off, but she looked like she was going to explode with anger.

"What is it?" I ask when Bellamy pulls me off to the side of the dining center. "I would ask if your cat died, but I know you don't have a cat." I laugh at my own joke, but he doesn't even crack a smile, which is so unlike him.

"Octavia," Now I know it's serious, "Why the hell are you getting so chummy with Clarke and Goth girl?" The anger in his voice scared me. I mean I've seen him this angry, I just don't think he'd ever directed that anger at me. I cross my arms, prepared for a fight.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I could tell that my voice was louder than it probably should have been, but I was angry.

"It means that they're not good for you. They're from a different world than us. They don't understand what it's like to be on the bottom." He runs a hand through his hair, successfully messing it up. He takes a deep breath and I raise my eyebrows at him, waiting for a valid excuse. "Don't look at me like that, O." I just glare at him. "I can't explain it. I just don't want you to hang out with them. You'll thank me later."

I take a moment to consider my thoughts before I speak. I don't want to speak rashly, like my brother is fond of doing. "I honestly don't understand why their being _different_ is a bad thing. You're friends are _different_ and yet you still hang out with them. And they're nice to me. Unlike _your_ friends."

"You don't know Clarke like I do." He said harshly. "You don't know the stories that are told about her. And what happened with Goth girl's boyfriend? People are still talking about that." Bell looked me directly in the eyes. "Clarke is not the saint you make her out to be. She's nasty and cruel and spoiled. She's not the girl next door. She's not the good girl. She's someone you should stay away from."

"She may not be a saint. But neither am I. She may be all those things, but she's not hiding herself from me. She's never pretended to be perfect. And she isn't. I trust her, even though I only met her yesterday." I sighed. "Believe me, I'm not ignoring your warnings. I'm just not going to outright give up on this opportunity to make a friend because you don't want me to." I pinned him with my stare. "Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm not choosing sides, unless you push me to. Don't make me chose, because you may not like my choice." I didn't even wait for his response before turning on my heels and going back to Raven and Clarke and finishing my breakfast.

 **A/N: Octavia is surprisingly hard to write for. She's such a complex character and she's stuck in a hard spot. I don't know how often I'll write from her POV, it'll probably be mostly Clarke with a few Bellamy thrown in there.**

 **So I was completely ignoring doing my Chemistry and Psychology homework because I was totally on a roll with this chapter. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to post chapter two. I've been busy moving in to college and acclimating to a new environment.**

 **As always, I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think of the chapter. You're opinions matter to me.**

 **Thanks, Brittany.**


	3. So Much for Senior Year

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this. The first half came easy, but the second half was a little harder.**

 **Disclaimer: The story is mine, the characters are not.**

 **I truly am interested in your opinions. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please remember I am a human being too and I do make mistakes.**

Chapter 3: So Much for Senior Year

\- Bellamy -

Pain. That's the first thing I feel when I wake up. And how bright it is in my room. "Fuck," I muttered, "This is why I hate getting drunk." I look across the room and see that my roommate is already gone. At least God has granted me that _small_ blessing. I should really learn his name. A wave of nausea hits me as I sit up, and I barely make it to the trash can before I throw up.

I sit like that on the floor for a long while, my back to the door, an arm around the can. The entire time praying my roommate didn't walk in, because he would trip over me and I ain't in the mood for that.

I try to remember last night, and what I did to deserve this beautiful gift this morning. All I can remember is being freaking pissed about something and dragging my boys to the bar. But I can't remember what I was mad about. I bang my head lightly on the wall, not a good move as far as my headache is concerned, but it must have shaken something lose.

Clarke. Clarke fucking Griffin. A new wave of nausea hits me and I know it isn't because of my hangover. The mere thought of her literally makes me want to hurl, which is saying something, because I have a strong stomach. I can't believe she's O's roommate. I can just imagine what everyone is going to say. "Bellamy Blake's little sister is best friends with his sworn enemy" Blah blah fucking blah.

I should really get up off this floor and stop inhaling the scent of my own vomit, but I know that if I do that, I'll have to face the world and the fact that my sister and _that one_ are probably becoming besties as we speak. God, did I just say besties? So, I just sit here. Staring at the ceiling. I look across the room and for a moment I wish I had _The Force_ to levitate the TV remote over to me.

About five minutes into me trying to figure out the best way to get the remote without leaving my spot on the floor, there's a knock at the door. _Fucking hell, it's too early for this shit._

"FUCK OFF!"

"Bell, it's O." Shit. Shit. Shit.

O hates it when I drink. I think she mostly just hates the fact that she was always the one who had to clean up after me. Or maybe she didn't want me to turn out like Dad. But what do I know, right? "Bell?"

"Give me a sec, alright? God." I jump up, my head screaming in protest.

I somehow, in a matter of thirty seconds clean up the mess that has made it's way into my space overnight, tug on a clean shirt and pants, light a candle that my roommate has lying around (Seriously, dude? A candle?) to help mask the scent of vomit and open the door to a overzealous little sister. She pushes past me and sits on my bed.

"Did I wake you?" She asks, way to perky this early in the morning. In response, I stare at her with dead eyes, showing her precisely how early she woke me up. She laughs. "Don't be like that, Bell. It's only 8 o'clock in the morning."

"O, I got like 2 hours of sleep." I say, as I scooch her over so I can flop back on my bed. "So I would really appreciate it if you'd tell me why you're here so that I can get back to sleep." I pull a pillow over my head. I don't know why, I just did. _Fuck, I'm tired._

"You mean, because of the drinking. And the partying. And the girls?" She pulls the pillow away and I see the glint in her eye that means she's enjoying mocking me.

I glare at her. "There were no girls last night." I mutter. "It was guys only." I wasn't lying. The longer I was awake, the more I remembered. At least I know I didn't have sex with anyone. I always hate having to clean up _those_ messes.

"Uh huh." O laughs again, she tosses her hair out of her face. She stares at the wall, her expression suddenly darkening. She looks back at me and sighs. She looks like she's about to say something, but thinks better of it. "I just wanted to say hi to my big brother. Is that so wrong?" She shoves me lightly, a fake smile plastered on her face.

I can tell that she's bothered by something. I sit up and look her straight in the eye. "What is it O?" She looks away, clearly not wanting to talk about it. "What happened? Did someone hurt you? Did Clarke do something? Say something?"

"That's just is Bell! Why do you hate Clarke?" She stands up and throws her hands in the air, obviously frustrated. "I'm not going to take sides between you. I just want to understand." She turns back to me. "I know you. I know you wouldn't hate someone without a valid reason. And I know I haven't known Clarke all that long, but what I have seen of her, she's a genuinely nice person. I'm just trying to understand what she did to make you hate her. And I can understand why you can make someone hate you, but she seems too nice for that?" Octavia sighs.

"What happened?" I ask, incredulously. "We're two entirely different people who have completely different philosophies as to how things should be dealt with. As such, we clashed heads _a lot_ last year. I decided that this year it would just be easier to not see her or talk to her at all this year." I sigh. "That obviously won't be happening."

"Is that it?" Octavia asks. "Your unending feud that gets both of you so riled up is because of a difference in philosophies?" She shakes her head.

I can tell that she's mad at me for not saying more. But how can I? How do you explain this? That this is because I can't stand to look at her because she reminds me of what we could never have? That she is the epitome of rich privilege? "That's it."

Octavia looks at me and I see something in her eyes that I've never seen before. Disappointment. I've always been a disappointment to everyone. Everyone except for my sister. It's actually quite depressing.

"Well, when you decide I'm worth talking too, you know where to find me." With that, she walked out the door.

* * *

Wait, what? Is she seriously choosing Clarke over me? Didn't she say that she wasn't going to take sides? I can't believe this. Then again, she's my sister, and we have the same stubborn streak.

I sit on the edge of the dock on the school lake. I'm drinking apple juice because apparently drinking alcohol at 10:00 in the morning is frowned upon on a college campus. Go figure. I don't know if I would be drinking anyway. I'm still reeling from the hangover I got from that Guy's Night last night. Worst. Night. Ever. I'd even started early, so it was more like Worst. Day. Ever. I still couldn't believe everything that has gone on between O and I over the course of the last 24 hours. All because of Clarke. Fucking. Griffin. She is the bane of my existence. She is everything wrong in the world. Except for maybe Terrorists and murderers and rapists.

Fine, maybe I'm being a little over dramatic, but she completely ruined the life of one of her friends, and almost did it to another. Those aren't the actions of a saint.

I'm so stuck in my own thoughts that I don't hear the footsteps making their way down the dock until they're right behind me. "I don't know who the fuck you are, but I'm not in the mood for talking." I say through clenched teeth as I crush the apple juice box and throw it into the lake.

"Hmm," comes the amused voice of a young woman. "I wonder what the masses of the school would think of the illustrious Bellamy Blake drinking apple juice out of a box." I turn and glare at her. I recognize her from around campus but I have no idea who she is. She's pretty, but I'm not in the mood for that. Not today.

"Is there a point to this interruption?" She sat down next to me.

"Not really. I was just wandering around and I saw this guy sitting on the end of the dock by himself. I thought to myself, 'He probably wants to be alone with his thoughts, and is probably wallowing in self-pity or something.' Then I had an idea. Why not go find out what the problem is that this guy is throwing _apple juice boxes_ into our _beautiful and trash-free_ lake." She looked me straight in the eye and held out her hand. "Amanda Peterson."

I just glared at her. "I don't know you. I don't care to know you." Her lip curled into a slight smile as she retracted her hand, which I did not shake. "I just want you to get the fuck out of my way."

"Ah, yes." She was full on grinning now. That just pissed me off, for a very apparent reason. "There's that infamous charm that the profound _Bellamy Blake_ is known for. I mean, I just feel the urge to drop my pants right now."

"What the fuck are you talking about? I'm not in the mood for any of these games. So you can either leave, or leave. It's your choice."

"Oh no! I see we have a problem here. I was just being a kind and considerate neighbor and you get all grouchy. That's not very nice. Besides, with your little sister in the tight little reigns of Clarke Griffin, it's no wonder you're a little touchy."

I just stared at her, open mouthed. It couldn't have spread that far already. I mean, O only got here yesterday. I hadn't told anyone that my little sister was here. And since she wasn't too fond of me at the moment, I couldn't imagine her spreading that around. Which left one person. " _Fucking hell._ Clarke, that little—"

"You really need to work on expanding your language. Fuck isn't the only swear in the English language." She smirked. This bitch really needs to stop doing that. "And besides. I'm not here on behalf of Clarke. Oh no, I hate that bitch as much as you do. I know it doesn't seem possible, but I do." She suddenly got really serious. "You see, I'm really good friends with Raven Reis. And Clarke messed her up last year. She's going back to the little slut and I can't fathom why. Which is where you come in."

"Excuse me, what?"

"Since you're so hell bent on getting Clarke away from your sister, I figured I'd offer assistance on the condition you'd help me get Raven away from Clarke as well." Damn. I thought all of my ideas were bad. This girl takes evil to the next level. I like it.

"So, what were you thinking?"

She smirked once more and honestly I would be a little terrified if I wasn't on the giving end of her ideas. "You're going to love this."

 **A/N: This was originally going to be Chapter 2, but I changed my mind, in order to give Clarke and Octavia a little more time to get to know one another. Anyway, on another note, do you think Bellamy is an apple juice kind of guy? I think he is.**

 **Also, I know this is really short, but I'm struggling with the POV. I think I'm going to have the story be from Clarke's POV unless I want to go somewhere without Clarke's presence. It'll just make it easier. But Bellamy will have plenty of representation, don't worry. I'm working on my ability to write from a male's POV and so I need to write more.**

 **As always, you're opinions are welcome. Thanks and happy Monday.**


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